The funny thing about the whole exemption thing is...
... it is there because it costs more to collect than revenues raised. If G. Norman et. al. get their way, the government increases administration costs without an equivalent gain in revenues raised and has to pass this cost on to the tax-payer. Who ends up with less money in pocket to spend on shopping.
And they will still buy on line because 1) most of the online shopping is local and GST is already paid, so it will make no difference, 2) whatever the price, if online is the only source of what you want to buy, that is where you buy it and no ammount of crocodile tears from big retailers will change that fact, and 3) where imports are genuinely parallel, it will take a LOT more than a little GST markup to make big retail look like they are even trying to be price competitive.
With people like that in charge of a big chunk of the economy, is it any wonder it is tanked?!
Go Myer. Some sanity from an otherwise delusional economic sector.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
